Cheat Codes Article

Gaming Cheats

Cheating in internet computer games is a broad grouping of activities, all of which are typically considered modifying the game experience in a way that gives one player an unfair advantage over the other players. Depending on the game, different activities constitute cheating.

Cheating exists in all multiplayer, online computer games. While there have always been cheat codes and other ways to make single player games simpler, most developers attempt to curb it in multiplayer games. With the release of the first popular Internet multiplayer games, cheating took on new looks. Before, it was somewhat easy to notice if the other players cheated, as most games were played on local networks or consoles. The Internet changed that by ramping up the popularity of multiplayer games, giving the players anonymity, and giving people an venue in which to communicate cheats to others.

Generally speaking, a player can alter settings within a game to make it suit their personal preferences. These alterations are usually not cheating, except in rare circumstances. Changing the keyboard configuartion to control a game character is, for example, usually accepted. But problems such as changing in-game player models and textures, or modifying the brightness in order to make it easier to see in dark areas are sometimes borderline cheating.

Usually included as cheating is the use of existing bugs or gameplay aspects unintended by the developers, known as exploits. Gamers are divided as to whether all exploitation is cheating, though most consider exploits as cheats if they are particularly unfair. It is also difficult to classify some activities as exploits, because sometimes unintended features in games can make them much more fun to play. However, most exploits are unbalancing to a multiplayer game, and are called cheats because they are based on mistakes by the developers.

The most unbalancing cheats usually come from external software. Either the program that runs the game is modified to allow the player to cheat, or other software is run which produces the same results. Wallhacks, aimbots, and other cheats fall into this category.

In games where wins and losses are recorded on a players account, a player may disconnect from a game they have lost in order to prevent the loss from being recorded. A similar phenomenon is when someone running a server boots players who are beating them. Disconnecting can be accepted when there are multiple players in a game but if it is a one-on-one match it is considered immoral, as the opponent of the cheater will not have their "win" recorded.